Ask Mr. Wallstreet: Should I Buy, Sell or

ASK mr. wAllStreet

SHOULD I BUY, SELL OR HOLD?

As we get bombarded with market information and intel in the news, social media, newsletters, TV ads, YouTube etc. we have to keep our own perspective in mind, which is, how does what’s happening in the stock market affect microcap stocks? How do we manage the holdings in our portfolio? How do we make our decisions of whether we should buy, sell or hold? As investors we do need to decipher pertinent details from the noise of those trying to sell us their ideas. Picking up morsels of truth is still relevant to our decision making which brings me to the point of staying in our lane, picking sources we trust with a history of accuracy, doing this will do more to protect our self-made directives while resisting a constant repetitive barrage of attempted paid influences.

Pundits in the microcap world often preach doing your homework, believe in your own methods, stick to your plan, learn from your mistakes, and build your sensibility to maintain focus. I believe for the most part they are correct. However, it’s quite difficult to locate non-biased information during our searching for it and even harder to interpret incoming information when it finds you.

Although I am a market traditionalist and since I historically lean on using my own common sense, this method may be costly since it also embeds learning from one’s own mistakes. For example, for generations investors relied on their stockbroker or wealth advisor to “trust” their advice, timing, ideas, guidance and performance. For better or for worse this marriage could have been a very successful marriage, oh by the way, the Internet, social media, relentless advertising, and regulatory intervention changed everything. The advent of discount brokering, and millennial DIY activity gave investors the power of making decisions but added the need for discipline, research, and trial & error. As far as I’m concerned and, in my opinion, I would rather fail or succeed because of my own decisions rather than being led to slaughter and placing blame elsewhere.

Ask Mr. Wallstreet is Shelly Kraft. He began on Wall Street in 1984 as a penny stockbroker, investment banker, rising to President of Emanuel & Company, a boutique IPO underwriter and microcap market maker.